Things are on the up for Myles Mayo. After earning critical acclaim with his self titled debut album last year, he’s preparing to release a new EP and head out on the road with Skipping Girl Vinegar. I caught up with the Adelaide muso recently to chat about his latest release, the upcoming tour, and what makes Radelaide such fertile musical ground.
You’re just about to release a new EP Leave the Party. What can you tell me about it?
It’s got five tracks. Leave the Party is the second single from my debut album that I released earlier in the year and the track has been re-mixed by Australian producer Paul McKercher (You Am I, Eskimo Joe, Hoodoo Gurus, Augie March, The Cruel Sea, Pete Murray). Also on the EP are two brand new recordings and several other cuts from the album.
Once an artist releases a full-length album they don’t often go back to recording EPs. What attracted you to going back to that short recording form?
It is mainly a promotional tool EP/single because I’m doing some touring in Oct/Nov 2011 and we wanted to release something for this period.
You’re heading out on the road with Skipping Girl Vinegar to promote both the EP and the debut album you released last year. Are you looking forward to that?
Yes, very much looking forward to playing up the east coast again. The new band have been really enjoying the live shows over the past six months or so.
It looks to be a pretty cruisy tour, with weekend shows and lots of time in between. What do you plan on doing in your downtime?
With these sorts of weekend hop style tours we all come back home to our respective day jobs, study, families etc. and get on with slowly trudging through this existence.
You’ve toured all around the country this year with various acts, so you must enjoy playing live. What is your favourite thing about being up on stage?
My favorite thing about being on stage is watching people’s reactions and trying to work out what they’re thinking … you might see one guy turn to his mate with a snarl on his face and you picture him saying “These guys are shit” … or you might see someone else bopping along to the tunes and you think “Well at least this guy likes it, so that other guy can kiss my arse” etc.
Before this you were part of the band Special Patrol. How’s the solo thing treating you?
Good thanks. I’ve always loved writing and playing music so as Special Patrol wound to a halt it freed me up to do some recording and gigging on my own which was a lot of fun. Special Patrol is no longer.
What inspired you to step out on your own musically?
As you grow older it becomes harder to get everyone in the room at the same time. Seeing as I was the songwriter it was just easier to buy a few new studio toys and start recording everything myself. One thing that is hard about being in a band is that you have to have a degree of democracy and this makes everything takes so long in the recording process. So I guess all that was inspiring me to do it in my own time with a simpler approach.
You hail from Adelaide, which probably punches above its weight when it comes to producing great Aussie talent. What is it about Adelaide that makes it such fertile musical ground?
I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because we are so much cooler than everyone from the other states.
Once this tour wraps up, what’s next on your horizon?
I was going to get a hot dog with cheese, onion, sauce and mustard.
You can catch Myles Mayo touring with Skipping Girl Vinegar at the following shows.
14 October 2011 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
21 October 2011 – The Vanguard, Sydney
4 November 2011 – Joe’s Waterhole, Brisbane
5 November 2011 – Beetle Bar, Brisbane
Image used with permission from Longtime Listener